Screening & Conversation: We Were Here - The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe

The Willson Center for Humanities and Arts, the Georgia Museum of Art, the UGA Humanities Council, the English department, and the department of history will present a screening of We Were Here - The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe, a groundbreaking documentary directed by Fred Kuwornu, as part of the 2025 UGA Humanities Festival and the Willson Center's Global Georgia public event series. A moderated conversation will follow the screening, which is free and open to the public.

We Were Here, filmed across Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, England, The Netherlands, and Brazil and showcased at the 60th International Venice Biennale of Art in 2024, explores the presence of Africans in Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries through the reinterpretation of famous paintings depicting Africans. It is a unique work in terms of both aesthetics and content, attracting many visitors and receiving wide international acclaim. This multilingual film helps students understand Europe's historical and current context regarding its Black population, exploring the evolution of racial concepts since the 16th century and revealing the untold stories and roles of influential African-Europeans during the Renaissance, including ambassadors, princes, saints, writers, and painters like Juan de Pareja. This film offers an invaluable resource for academic discussions, inviting deeper exploration of African contributions to European history and art.